# List of Tommy Lee Jones performances
**Tommy Lee Jones** (born 1946 in San Saba, Texas) is an American actor and film director whose screen work runs from a 1970 feature debut in *Love Story* through television movies and miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s, an Academy Award for *The Fugitive* (1993), and starring roles in *Men in Black* (1997), *No Country for Old Men* (2007), and *Lincoln* (2012).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) One filmography compilation counts 68 credited roles, 65 in films and 3 in television series.[3](https://popculturefiles.com/filmographies/tommy-lee-jones-filmography)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946, San Saba, Texas, USA[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) |
| Film debut | *Love Story* (1970), as the roommate of Ryan O'Neal's character[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| Emmy Award | Best actor for the television movie *The Executioner's Song* (1982)[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) • [4](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/64/170/109120/presse/the-family-presskit-french.pdf) |
| Academy Award | Best Supporting Actor for *The Fugitive*, 66th Academy Awards (1994)[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1994) |
| Other Oscar nominations | Best Supporting Actor for *JFK* (1991); Best Actor for *In the Valley of Elah* (2007)[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| Directing | Television debut with *The Good Old Boys* (1995); first theatrical feature as director, *The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada* (2005)[4](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/64/170/109120/presse/the-family-presskit-french.pdf) • [6](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images/files/82/82763076-8865-4a53-bf86-15822a175cf6.pdf) |
| Rotten Tomatoes extremes | Highest rated: *The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez* (2007) at 100%; lowest rated: *Nate and Hayes* (1983) at 0%[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) |
## Television beginnings and early film
Jones began on television. He held a regular role as Dr. Mark Toland on the daytime soap opera *One Life to Live* from 1971 to 1975, and after moving to Hollywood in 1975 he landed a prominent role in the debut of the series *Charlie's Angels*.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) His first lead in a Hollywood feature was the 1976 crime drama *Jackson County Jail*, produced by [Roger Corman](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-corman); his first big-screen lead of any kind was the little-seen 1970 Canadian film *Eliza's Horoscope*.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
Made-for-television movies built his reputation in this period: *The Amazing Howard Hughes* (CBS, 1977) and *The Executioner's Song* (NBC, 1982), for which he won an Emmy Award.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) The celebrated CBS miniseries *Lonesome Dove* (1989), co-starring [Robert Duvall](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-duvall), Anjelica Huston, and [Diane Lane](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-lane), followed.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) On film, he drew notice for supporting work in *Coal Miner's Daughter* (1980) opposite [Sissy Spacek](https://www.edgepedia.org/sissy-spacek).[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
## Breakthrough: JFK and The Fugitive
**JFK (1991)** brought Jones his first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of [Clay Shaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/clay-shaw), a businessman and suspected conspirator in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) The villainous ex-CIA operative he played in the 1992 thriller *Under Siege* introduced his work to a far wider audience.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
The breakthrough came with Andrew Davis's action-thriller *The Fugitive* (1993), starring [Harrison Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrison-ford) as a doctor wrongly convicted of murdering his wife. As the U.S. marshal pursuing him, Jones won the [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actor) at the 66th Academy Awards, held March 21, 1994.[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1994) The film earned over $170 million and became one of the top-grossing hits of its time.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
## The 1990s: blockbusters and franchise work
Within the year after *The Fugitive*, Jones starred in three more large box-office hits, [Oliver Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/oliver-stone)'s *Natural Born Killers*, *The Client*, and *Blown Away*, and played baseball legend [Ty Cobb](https://www.edgepedia.org/ty-cobb) in *Cobb*.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) In 1995 he played the villain Two-Face opposite [Val Kilmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/val-kilmer) in *Batman Forever*, critically drubbed but commercially successful.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
His next major triumph was the 1997 science-fiction action-comedy *Men in Black*, co-starring [Will Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-smith) as a pair of agents fighting an alien invasion.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) The follow-up projects *Volcano* (1997), *Small Soldiers* (1998), and the *Fugitive* sequel *U.S. Marshals* (1998) were relative disappointments, but the 1999 action-thriller *Double Jeopardy*, co-starring [Ashley Judd](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashley-judd), was another large hit.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) In 2000 he appeared in the courtroom drama *Rules of Engagement* and the astronaut drama *Space Cowboys* alongside [Clint Eastwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/clint-eastwood), James Garner, and Donald Sutherland.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
## Directing and 2000s acclaim
Jones moved behind the camera with the 1995 telefilm *The Good Old Boys*, adapted from Elmer Kelton's book.[4](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/64/170/109120/presse/the-family-presskit-french.pdf) His first feature as director was *The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada* (2005), in which he also starred.[6](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images/files/82/82763076-8865-4a53-bf86-15822a175cf6.pdf) At the 2005 Festival de Cannes the film received both the Award for Best Actor and the Award for Best Screenplay.[7](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tommy-lee-jones/)
The year 2007 brought two widely discussed performances: Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in *No Country for Old Men*, which won the [Academy Award for Best Picture](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-picture), and Hank Deerfield in *In the Valley of Elah*, for which he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) In September 2008 he sued [Paramount Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-pictures) over more than $10 million in promised box-office bonuses for *No Country for Old Men*; the case went to arbitration and he received a settlement of more than $15 million.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
## 2010s and later
Jones worked steadily through the 2010s. In 2010 he appeared in the drama *The Company Men*; in 2011 he played Col. Chester Phillips in *Captain America: The First Avenger* and directed and starred in *The Sunset Limited* for HBO, opposite Samuel L. Jackson.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) • [8](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth903395/m2/1/high_res_d/UNT-0014-0019.pdf) 2012 alone saw four releases: *Men in Black 3*, *Hope Springs* with Meryl Streep, *Emperor*, and Steven Spielberg's *Lincoln*, in which he played Republican politician Thaddeus Stevens opposite Daniel Day-Lewis.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones)
Later credits include *The Homesman* (2014), on which he served as actor, director, screenwriter, and producer; *Jason Bourne* (2016) as CIA Director Robert Dewey; *Ad Astra* (2019) as H. Clifford McBride; and *The Burial* (2023) as Jeremiah O'Keefe, which drew a 92% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) He also played Ray Eldridge in *Finestkind* (2023).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones)
## Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | *Love Story* | Roommate | Film debut[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 1976 | *Jackson County Jail* | Lead | First Hollywood lead[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 1982 | *The Executioner's Song* | Gary Gilmore | Emmy Award[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 1991 | *JFK* | Clay Shaw | Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actor[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 1993 | *The Fugitive* | U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard | Oscar win, Best Supporting Actor[5](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1994) |
| 1997 | *Men in Black* | Agent K | With Will Smith[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 2005 | *The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada* | Lead | Also director; Cannes Best Actor and Best Screenplay[6](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images/files/82/82763076-8865-4a53-bf86-15822a175cf6.pdf) • [7](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tommy-lee-jones/) |
| 2007 | *No Country for Old Men* | Ed Tom Bell | Best Picture winner[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 2012 | *Lincoln* | Thaddeus Stevens | Spielberg film[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones) |
| 2023 | *The Burial* | Jeremiah O'Keefe | 92% critics score[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones) |
## References
1. [Tommy Lee Jones Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tommy_lee_jones)
2. [Tommy Lee Jones Biography, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/tommy-lee-jones)
3. [Tommy Lee Jones Filmography in Order, Pop Culture Files](https://popculturefiles.com/filmographies/tommy-lee-jones-filmography)
4. [The Family press kit, UniFrance](https://medias.unifrance.org/medias/64/170/109120/presse/the-family-presskit-french.pdf)
5. [The 66th Academy Awards (1994), Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1994)
6. [Tommy Lee Jones filmography and biography, Mongrel Media press kit](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images/files/82/82763076-8865-4a53-bf86-15822a175cf6.pdf)
7. [Tommy Lee Jones, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/p/tommy-lee-jones/)
8. [Adaptation history referencing The Sunset Limited, Texas History UNT](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth903395/m2/1/high_res_d/UNT-0014-0019.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Actor filmographies and performer list articles › Surnames M to T*
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